Notification of inventions of students and external collaborators

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE NOTIFICATIONS OF INVENTIONS OF STUDENTS AND EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS

The University of Maribor (hereinafter referred to as ”UM”) includes into scientific research and development work of its researchers also the students and external collaborators who contribute in a creative environment to the achievement of sustainable development and superior scientific results.

The provisions of the Rules on industrial property rights management at the University of Maribor, which regulate the acquisition procedure of employee inventions and rights and obligations of UM and inventors derived from the inventions discovered or created on the basis of employment at UM, apply mutatis mutandis to the acquisition procedure of inventions discovered or created on the basis of civil contractual relationship with contractors or of inventions that have been discovered or created by undergraduate or graduate students.

With regard to (co-)funding of scientific research conducted by students or external collaborators UM may conclude agreements, which determine who is in command of the invention created in the frame of the research work and arrange the issues of rights of use of these inventions, the amount and modalities of any special payment. In this respect, due consideration is given to contractual obligations of all parties.

In cases when it comes to inventions resulting from contract work of external collaborators or students or when you benefited from UM funds in the creation of the invention, we advise you to consult the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals before submitting the documentation (e.g. digest, scientific article, bachelor, master or PhD thesis) for publication or public presentation or disclosure of the invention to third parties you are advised to consult the professionals of UM Technology Transfer Office, because every unauthorized disclosure could seriously jeopardize the patent protection or protection of the invention with other industrial property right. Early and complete disclosure to UM and UM Technology Transfer Office is therefore crucial. Despite or because of this, the notification of invention may also be supplemented at a later time.

Duly completed invention disclosure form serves as a written notification of invention to UM and UM Technology Transfer Office and contains all the information needed for the decision to acquire the invention. The information provided on the form is used by the UM Technology Transfer Office for the purposes of (1) determining the ownership of existing intellectual property rights and the existence of any rights and obligations of third parties (e.g. UM employees, partners from the industry and investors), (2) assessing the potential of the invention for protection and commercialization, and (3) providing the most appropriate support and services to you. At the same time, the disclosed information enables the recording of existing intellectual property of UM and UM cooperation with the industry, and monitoring the resulting contractual obligations and validity of industrial property rights of UM.

All invention disclosure forms at UM are reviewed by the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals. UM informs the inventor whether it will acquire the invention within three months from receipt of the form at the latest. The decision by the Rector of UM is taken on the basis of the opinion of the Committee, composed of a representative of the university member, with which the inventor collaborated, a representative representing the relevant scientific discipline and a representative of the UM Technology Transfer Office.

UM Technology Transfer Office will use its best efforts to find suitable partners for further development and commercialization of the acquired inventions. All income generated in the commercial exploitation of the acquired inventions is distributed in accordance with the agreement concluded between UM and students or external collaborators. Due to the need of naming all inventors on potential patent applications and ensuring a fair sharing of incomes from the commercial exploitation of inventions, all persons who in any way contributed to the creation of the invention must be listed in the form.

The completion of this form is the first step to acquisition, protection and commercialization of your invention. So, we kindly ask you to consistently answer all questions. The absence of information and inconsistencies in the form lead to further clarifications and amendments, which the UM Technology Transfer Office is obliged to request. This also slows down the process of commercialization and delays the start of receiving income from the commercialization. In case of doubt or difficulties in completing the form, we advise you to turn for help to the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals.

Any communication between you and the professional staff of UM and UM Technology Transfer Office is confidential as all persons who learn about the invention in the assessment process of the acquisition procedure are obliged to keep it secret and must not exploit this knowledge and disclose it without explicit written consent of all inventors and UM. For the purpose of disclosing inventions to third parties we recommend the use of nondisclosure agreement. For assistance in the preparation of such an agreement you can turn for help to the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals.

For additional information on completing this form please contact the UM Technology Transfer Office, TehnoCenter at the University of Maribor, either by phone at +386 2 2355 344, by email to
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or visit us at Krekova ulica 2 in Maribor (1st floor).